Eating Out On Your Kauai Vacation
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the entire country’s restaurant industry is struggling to gain its footing again now that we’re in the “comeback” phase of Covid-19. Here on Kauai, we live on a rock, and the situation is no different. Every day it’s getting better, but realistically– expect some challenges when it comes to eating out during your Kauai vacation.
Our first bit of advice is to make your dinner reservations NOW—tables are currently booking up four to six weeks in advance. If you find yourself without reservations, you may be able to get in late (after 8:30pm) and/or you may be able to luck out and snag a couple seats at the bar, if there are only two of you. The bigger your group, the earlier you’re going to need to make your dinner reservations.
Unfortunately, breakfast options are quite limited on Kauai. If you’re staying at a resort, you’re probably covered but if you’re in a condo or a vacation rental, your best bet might be eating breakfast at home. It’s not a bad option, given our island-grown and roasted Kauai Coffee and abundance of fresh, tropical fruit. There are coffee shops and a handful of breakfast joints around the island, just be sure to give yourself plenty of time if you go that route, as they’re limited and popular with locals and visitors alike.
You’ll likely find that lunch is your easiest meal to find on Kauai—our food truck scene is strong, all around the island. You’ll be able to find options ranging from local Hawaiian plate lunches, taco trucks, sushi rolls, barbeque, Greek gyros, wood-fired pizza, Indian dishes and more. A lot of the restaurants that aren’t open for breakfast open up for lunch too, so sitting down and ordering isn’t impossible.
As you patronize Kauai’s restaurants, we hope that you’ll have patience and show aloha to the hosts, cashiers, servers and bartenders. Staffing has been a major challenge for Kauai’s restaurants and the people helping you (our friends, family and neighbors) are likely being overworked and under-appreciated.
We recommend keeping some granola bars or other snacks in your car to prevent those moments of “hanger” (hungry-anger); we all have someone in our group susceptible to “hanger” right?! We also recommend calling ahead to be sure the restaurant you have in mind is actually open; unfortunately, not every business is great about updating their hours online.
One place you can count on being fed well, without any hassle at all, is on our Holo Holo tours. Each of our boats has a legal maximum number of passengers and a legal minimum number of crewmembers—meaning that we’re not any more or less taxed than we’ve ever been—we’ve got this program dialed! Our caterers (a local, westside, family operation called Rose & Bros.) have absolutely no problem meeting our daily demand for the yummy and creative breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts that we serve. Depending on the tour, we offer coffee, soft drinks, juices, beer, wine, hard seltzers and cocktails and you might be surprised at just how on-top-of-it our crewmembers are with the refills! No waiting for a table, no waiting to order, no messed-up orders, no waiting for the check—just great food and fast, friendly service, paired with the best views on the island, or rather the best views of the island. Make reservations today and let us wine you and dine you as you experience one of the most magical coastlines in the world!
